Apple's Entry Into Smartwatch Market Triggers 'Urgency' for Luxury Watchmakers, Parks Says
Smartwatches are primed to be a hot holiday item, according to Parks Associates, which said Thursday that more than 40 percent of smartwatches sold are gifts. Some 9 percent of U.S. broadband households plan to buy a smartwatch by the…
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end of the year, up from 8 percent last year, it said. "Consumers expect the smartwatch to be part of the mobile and connected home ecosystem,” analyst Harry Wang said. Among smartwatch owners and those planning to buy one, 42 percent said they would buy a smartwatch only if it works with apps from multiple companies, Wang said. In 2014, Best Buy and Amazon.com were the leading retailers for smartwatches, with 44 percent of the market, but Walmart's market share jump from 2 percent in 2013 to 7 percent last year indicates consumers will gravitate to familiar sales channels for electronics, Wang said. That makes Apple's entry into the market “even more potent” as it provides a “much-needed impetus” to smartwatch adoption, he said. "Traditional and luxury smartwatch manufacturers have been playing a waiting game to gauge consumer interest and reactions to the smartwatch,” Wang said. Apple's entry introduces “some urgency as the traditional and luxury watch manufacturers do not want to fall too far behind when introducing new products,” he said.